Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Ithaca Beer Company - Flower Power IPA

Going into my trip to Boston, I had a pretty extensive list of beers
that I wanted to find during the trip. Number 1 on the list was The
Alchemist's Heady Topper, which I wasn't lucky enough to find
(apparently they were between batches, so none of the bars in Boston had
it when we were there). I was, however, able to find a decent amount of
other things on the list. Way up there was an IPA I had heard a ton
about, Ithaca Beer Company's Flower Power. In case you've never heard of
them, they're a small brewery located in Ithaca, New York (also the
home to Cornell University) that has a reputation for churning out a
solid lineup of beers.

Flower Power IPA pours a clear deep golden color with a thin,
off-white colored head. The aroma has a ton of floral and citrus hops
along with a nice dose of grapefruit and caramel.

The taste opens with huge notes of grapefruit pith, orange rind
and pink grapefruit flesh with a nice caramel malt backbone to hold down
all the hops. The beer finishes on a dry and bitter but very clean
note. I was pretty sure that us west coasters had a monopoly on great
IPAs going into this trip, but after this beer, I'm really not so sure.
It was every bit as bold, aggressive and tasty as anything I've found
out here.